organizational leadership – Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

The Silo Effect: The Peril of Expertise & the Promise of Breaking Down Barriers

By Scott J. Pearson | February 10, 2026February 10, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

Organizational silos occur when groups of people in the same organization do not rely on each others’ insights because of various cultural reasons. While the division of labor that silos create is essential for any business, silos can inhibit an organization’s creativity and innovation. They have been weak points in or even downfalls of many great business empires. Through case studies across many organizations and industries, anthropologist Gillian Tett describes negative results silos can create…

Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power & Greatness

By Scott J. Pearson | November 15, 2025November 15, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

When observing the world, many see that true leadership does not reflect positions of power; rather, it reflects a quality of personal character. Robert Greenleaf looked at 1970s America and the 1970s world and observed a lack of leadership. We had educated talent out the wazoo, but lacked people able to usher in lasting, good change. He wrote this book to cultivate such leadership qualities in its readers. Leadership, to him, was of a servant’s…

Leadership Management-Business

Fearless Change: Patterns for Introducing New Ideas

By Scott J. Pearson | October 30, 2025October 30, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

I work in software research, so much of my professional life centers around introducing ideas into others’ organizations. I am always trying to anticipate roadblocks that they might have. While my own work environment is relatively open to change and dialogue, not everyone has that kind of workplace. The authors share dozens of strategies to help regular individuals lead change in their organizations. Two stipulations are clear for this book’s audience: Their organization must be…

Biography-Memoir Management-Business

Principles: Life & Work by Ray Dalio

By Scott J. Pearson | October 18, 2025October 18, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

Ray Dalio became famous through founding and building his company Bridgewater Associates into an economic powerhouse over decades. Of course, many became interested in how he did it. This book narrates his personal story, but it does more. He ran his company through a series of principles as if it were a machine he and his associates built. This book also chronicles those principles at length to communicate Dalio’s and Bridgewater’s vision of how a…

Leadership Management-Business Presentation

Power Cues: The Subtle Science of Leading Groups, Persuading Others & Maximizing Your Personal Impact

By Scott J. Pearson | October 4, 2025October 4, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

We’d like to think that our social lives and businesses are meritocracies, but they clearly aren’t. The best ideas don’t always win, and much depends on how one presents themselves. In a world where people make quick judgments about leaders, quickly conveying trust matters more than ever before. Communications expert Nick Morgan teaches us how to master those soft skills of leadership. Generally, this book is filled with solid advice about public speaking in settings…

Leadership Management-Business

Managing & Leading People through Organizational Change: The Theory & Practice of Sustaining Change through People

By Scott J. Pearson | July 8, 2025July 8, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

Leading people through change remains a huge leadership issue in today’s quickly evolving world. Gaining soft skills to manage change also remains an essential leadership skill. Most books topping the bestseller lists inspire readers to help their organizations adapt better. This book is not one of those inspirational pieces. Rather, Julie Hodges guides readers through the entire field to see the diverse approaches required to help their people adapt. Instead of just triggering those with…

Leadership Management-Business Psychology

An Everyone Culture: Becoming a Deliberately Developmental Organization

By Scott J. Pearson | June 23, 2025June 23, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

I work with a career development team for researchers at an academic medical center. Developing researchers’ careers is our central role in the enterprise. We do not have a formal structure that this book describes, but an informal culture of synergy and growth is a huge part of what we cultivate. Because of a constantly evolving world, career and professional development can provide an edge for organizations. A culture of growth attracts and retains top…

Leadership Management-Business Software-Technology

Leading Effective Engineering Teams: Lessons for Individual Contributors & Managers from 10 Years at Google

By Scott J. Pearson | May 19, 2025May 19, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

This book fills a gap in literature about technology leadership. Many books on leadership exist; likewise, many books on approaching technology from the perspective of business leadership exist; however, not a lot of books talk about how to lead from a technologist’s angle. People working in software are usually really smart people. They know and respect “game” when they see competence and mastery in their field. But mentorship from books or from seasoned leaders is…

Leadership Management-Business

Scaling Leadership: Building Organizational Capability & Capacity to Create Outcomes that Matter Most

By Scott J. Pearson | April 24, 2025April 24, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

For anyone, leadership is a journey, not a destination. It’s more of an art than a series of steps to implement. We all break down as much as we build up. It helps to have intelligent partners to dialogue with, but those are often hard to come by. Good books certainly provide helpful sparring partners to hone one’s style. This book seeks to help leaders advance their personal leadership by advancing how they build leaders…

Leadership Management-Business

Organizational Culture & Leadership, 5th Edition

By Scott J. Pearson | March 28, 2025March 28, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

“Culture” has become a trendy word in today’s business talk. Many popular books espouse it as a cure-all to every organizational malady. Much hype certainly permeates those book, but Edgar Schein’s work cuts through the hype with an academic lens. Known as the father of the field of organizational culture, Schein describes his early explorations about it with the now-defunct DEC and how his ideas expanded with later work. As a result, this 5th edition…